The Conference room, which would normally be empty, was full. The Trainees and Hunters stood without sitting in chairs.

Their murmuring echoed softly through the training hall.

Outside the door, the Lobby unfolded. Kim Myeongju could be seen entering Guardian Hall while on a phone call.

“Yes, I will do that. But…”

He said a few more words in front of the Conference room, then hung up the phone and stepped inside.

From the moment Kim Myeongju entered the Conference room, the murmuring ceased. Only the steady footsteps of Kim Myeongju heading to the platform echoed.

Kim Myeongju subtly pushed aside the stand microphone on the book stand and briefly gazed at the Trainees.

An ineffable gaze intersected in the air.

Soon, Kim Myeongju opened his mouth.

“As I told you, a C-class Gate has appeared. This is the 4th one in the Republic of Korea.”

His tone was neither light nor fearful.

“Currently, the Republic of Korea’s 보유 Points are… from what I understand, 1,783,421. The cost required to eliminate this C-class Gate is 2,819,742. We are short by approximately 1 million Points.”

The atmosphere among the Trainees grew cold, as if cold water had been thrown on them.

1 million Points.

It could be said to be a close call.

The given period was 7 days.

If they couldn’t eliminate it within 7 days, Monsters would pour out.

“As you all, our Trainees, know, during the last Ulsan incident, we were short by only 30,000 Points. Entering a low-grade Dungeon is not unhelpful. It’s a time when we need to gather even just 1 more Point.”

Kim Myeongju straightened his posture and bowed deeply to the Trainees.

“For the Republic of Korea, I ask for your help.”

At his solemn farewell, the Trainees solemnly strengthened their resolve.

Everyone who entered this Training Institute must have made a pledge at some point.

To become a Hunter and protect the citizens.

It wasn’t just the Republic of Korea.

In most countries, Hunters are treated as heroes who protect the nation.

Everyone respects them and appreciates their efforts.

Now was the time for Hunters to prove themselves.

To show why Hunters are heroes.

Kim Songcheol and Team 25A immediately left the Conference room and received their equipment.

They immediately put on their battle suits and stood at the back of a long line.

It was a line waiting for their turn at the Dungeon Stone Slab.

“We can stop it, right?”

Oh Songhui said.

“Of course.”

Kim Songcheol replied with a clear voice.

“Back then, Hunter Cha Sehyeon was weak.”

In fact, when the Ulsan incident occurred, Cha Sehyeon had just graduated from the Training Institute.

At that time, the strongest Hunter in Korea was Yoo Jonghwan.

Although he was now deceased, at that time he was the Hunter who earned the most Points.

If you were to compare him with Cha Sehyeon now, anyone would favor Cha Sehyeon.

That’s how unique Cha Sehyeon was.

“Right? After all, if they’re strong, they’ll earn more…”

Oh Songhui seemed a little relieved. Kim Songcheol simply nodded his head as he watched her.

It’s probably best not to say anything unnecessary.

During the Ulsan incident, the deficit points were around 700,000.

The government has never officially announced this incident.

This is because when a gate appears, the government controls the media to prevent public confusion.

Kim Songcheol had heard about it through rumors, so Oh Songhui, who was a student at the time, seemed not to have heard of it.

Cha Sehyeon’s earned points are more or less fixed anyway. The problem is with the Hunters below him…

While Kim Songcheol quietly calculated in his head, the line quickly dwindled.

Hunters were throwing themselves into the Dungeon like paratroopers going into battle.

Soon, it was Team 25A’s turn.

Team 25A stepped onto the stone slab with grim expressions.

Kim Songcheol exhaled briefly and adjusted the Dungeon’s difficulty.

Kim Songcheol had been the leader of Team 25A for the past two weeks.

F-rank setting.

The rest of the team members repeated his chant.

The countdown followed.

Teleportation in 5 seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

The moment Kim Songcheol accepted the teleportation, the scenery instantly changed.

Dark interior.

Damp air.

Although orange light masses were visible, the visibility was not enough to walk.

Hold.

Kim Songcheol first gave the order and looked left and right.

After a while, his eyes adjusted enough to see ahead.

The Dungeon was a large cave.

Orange rocks were scattered throughout the cave, and faint light emanated from them.

Let’s move.

Team 25A began to advance through the cave.

Their footsteps were unhesitating.

Caves are actually among the easier types.

This is because monsters only appear in the passages.

There was no need to be wary of monsters ambushing from the sides, like in a forest.

Thump-thump-thump.

Before long, monster footsteps were heard from ahead.

The sound of monster footsteps was also one of the factors that made cave terrain easy.

Footsteps echo before they appear.

At least in F-rank Dungeons.

I’ll take care of it.

Kim Songcheol did not slow his pace, floating a magic circle in the air.

The footsteps grew closer, and soon, pure white monsters emerged from the darkness.

They were the size of large dogs.

They resembled monkeys, with long limbs, and approached rapidly by climbing the cave walls.

Magic Missile.

With Kim Songcheol’s incantation, the magic circle repeatedly appeared and disappeared.

Each time a magic circle appeared, a Magic Missile was fired.

The magic circle flickered as if flashing, pouring out Magic Missiles.

His casting speed seemed faster than before.

Thudding!

The monsters hit by Magic Missile fell to the ground.

They couldn’t move immediately, not just from the impact of the Magic Missile, but also from hitting the ground.

Seizing that opportunity, Oh Songhui’s sword harvested the monsters.

Thrust!

Each time the sword pierced a chest, pure white blood flowed out, soaking the damp ground.

Let’s go.

After dealing with a group of monsters, Team 25A advanced without delay.

Normally they would have chatted, but today, no one spoke unnecessarily.

After advancing through the cave for 12 hours, Team 25A discovered a giant cavern.

In its center lay a Portal, guarded by a large, pure white monster.

It was a Portal Guardian, which appeared occasionally.

Combat Formation A.

At Kim Songcheol’s command, Oh Songhui and Seo Gangjin stepped forward.

The crouching monster stood up, raising its long limbs.

It looked like a larger version of the white monkeys that kept appearing.

It was twice their size, so if it spread its arms, it would probably be at least 5 or 6 meters wide.

It was then.

The monster suddenly picked up a rock from the ground, then whipped its arm like a lash and threw it.

The boulder was the size of a child’s head. A serious injury was guaranteed if hit.

Oh Songhui and Seo Gangjin had no reason to dodge. The boulder was originally aimed at the mage in the back.

Get close!

Kim Songcheol shouted as he lunged to the side.

It was an order given to Oh Songhui and Seo Gangjin.

The two hesitated for a moment, but then remembered that they had to block the throws and quickly closed the distance to the monster.

Thud!

The boulder flew between Kim Songcheol and Moon Gijeong, hitting the wall and shattering into pieces.

A terrifying power.

If the two hadn’t quickly dodged to either side, someone’s head would have burst open like a watermelon.

In the meantime, Oh Songhui and Seo Gangjin rushed at the monster and began to hack at its arms and legs.

It seemed to be letting them attack without resistance.

It was designed for ranged combat from the start.

Kim Songcheol’s judgment to rush in was correct.

Slash!

Even with Oh Songhui’s second attack, one of the monster’s arms was completely severed.

Screech!

The monster’s piercing scream.

Not missing the opportunity, Kim Songcheol and Moon Gijeong’s magic attacks rained down.

The monster, receiving blows without resistance, eventually collapsed.

The points obtained from defeating the Portal Guardian were about 240 each.

In total, they earned 1000 points.

After dealing with the Portal Guardian, Team 25A immediately left the Dungeon.

Upon returning to the Guardian Hall, they saw medical staff waiting.

They were unfamiliar faces. It seemed to be additional personnel due to the emergency.

Kim Songcheol transferred all the points to Kim Myeongju.

A total of 4,000 points.

It was above average.

We did one thing, at least.

Good work.

Team 25A encouraged each other and left the room.

Kim Songcheol took off his helmet and headed to the lobby.

In the lobby, the target points were still displayed on a large screen.

[983,524]

They were still short 980,000 points.

But it’s too early to despair.

It’s only day one.

There are still six more days left.

Team 25A split up, took an eight-hour break, and then reassembled at Guardian Hall.

It was a break that only guaranteed sleep.

But no one complained.

As soon as Kim Songcheol entered Guardian Hall, he checked the screen in the Lobby.

[962,643]

Only a 20,000 point drop in eight hours.

Team 25A was immediately deployed to the Dungeon without discussing points.

This Dungeon took sixteen hours.

This was due to spending a little more time finding the Portal.

After the next break, they re-entered the Dungeon.

After escaping, points were transferred.

Remaining points confirmed.

[893,643]

Approximately 110 hours remaining.

Again, break, Dungeon, escape, point transfer, confirmation.

[703,875]

The number suddenly dropped sharply.

It seemed a high-grade Hunter had cleared a Dungeon.

[622,129]

[604,650]

[509,152]

The points needed became progressively less with each entry and exit from the Dungeon.

Now, about twenty hours remained.

Fifty thousand points left.

It wasn’t a desperate situation.

The reason so many points remained was that Cha Sehyeon had not yet returned from the Dungeon.

Normal Cha Sehyeon collects about 400,000 points.

If he pushed himself a little harder, it would be around 450,000.

This meant the remaining Hunters only needed to fill 50,000 to 100,000 points.

‘Still, it’s a close call… let’s try to gather as much as possible.’

Kim Songcheol steeled his resolve and crossed the Corridor to enter the Dungeon one last time.

Treatment for the injured was in full swing in the rooms lining both sides of the Corridor.

In their haste to clear the Dungeons, Hunters were constantly getting injured, from minor scrapes to serious wounds.

Ugh!

A Hunter’s scream erupted from a room. The Medical Staff’s urgent voice was also heard.

Oh Songhui flinched every time a scream was heard.

All Kim Songcheol could do was gently pat her shoulder.

Team 25A passed through the Corridor and stepped onto the Stone Slab.

Soon, they were enveloped in a bright light and transported to the final Dungeon.

The Dungeon was a hot and humid Jungle. As soon as they entered, hot air rushed in, and sunlight barely squeezed through the dense leaves.

“Hoo…”

Kim Songcheol unknowingly let out a small sigh.

Even with rest, the fatigue accumulated over seven days was beyond words.

Although he was getting help from the Ring, it was powerless against accumulated fatigue.

Moon Gijeong didn’t show it, but the area under his eyes was dark.

“Let’s go. This is the last one.”

Kim Songcheol encouraged his teammates.

Everyone looked tired, but their eyes were alive.

It was the last Dungeon, and they still had the obligation to fill the insufficient points.

Team 25A began to push through the Jungle.

Kim Songcheol, who was swiftly taking down Monsters as usual, had his attention drawn to something faintly visible through the bushes.

“Just a moment.”

Kim Songcheol had his teammates wait and pushed aside the bushes.

There was a small Boulder there, with strange writing carved on it.

Regardless of the meaning of the writing, the discovery of such an artificial structure within an F-rank Dungeon was somewhat unusual.

“There must be something… here?”

“Let’s just go.”

Seo Gangjin urged Kim Songcheol.

Kim Songcheol nodded.

It was a time for action and breaking through, not for analysis and prediction.

As Kim Songcheol fought his way through the Jungle, killing every Monster he saw, he discovered a structure extending high above the trees.

It was clearly an artificially made Pillar.

“This way.”

Kim Songcheol headed towards the structure.

After pushing through the bushes for a while, a rather wide clearing appeared.

And in the center of that clearing was a tall building.

A temple that seemed to have been abandoned for a long time.

At the top of the tall pyramid was a large gate, and red light poured out from the wide-open gate.

“…It was an Irregular Dungeon after all.”

Kim Songcheol murmured.

An Irregular Dungeon is one where unusual structures, unexpected Monsters, or special terrain appear.

A common feature of Irregular Dungeons is that they give a lot of points.

He didn’t know what was inside that temple, but points were guaranteed.

“I think we should go in. Who agrees?”

Kim Songcheol spoke concisely.

There was no time for discussion.

As if on cue, all the team members raised their hands.

It was time to accumulate points by any means necessary.